According to news reports, the trio were reportedly walking back to their hotel along Southwest 42nd Street after dinner. They were in a wide swath of grass when a pickup truck driver veered toward them and crossed over from the westbound lane to the eastbound lane and then onto the shoulder of the road. Authorities said speed and alcohol are likely factors in this pedestrian accident.

Florida – and South Florida in particular – is a perilous place for pedestrians, and has been for some time. Addressing these issues may take an approach that considers better traffic engineering and more targeted enforcement. However, those efforts can only go so far if drivers continue to disregard our traffic laws and the safety of pedestrians. Two recent reports show the problems, at least for now, aren’t getting better.

The Governors Highway Safety Association recently released its 2016 preliminary data on Pedestrian Traffic Fatalities by State. It’s a 38-page report that begins with this: The number of pedestrian accident deaths in the U.S. has increased by 25 percent from 2010 to 2015, while total traffic deaths climbed by about 6 percent.

The latest figures, looking at statistics from the first six months of 2016, during which they noted an increase of 7 percent from the previous time frame in 2015. However, after adjusting for the under-reporting in those preliminary figures, the number of pedestrians killed last year is estimated to have increased by 11 percent compared with 2015. That’s the largest annual increase in 40 years – the second largest being from 2014 to 2015.

What’s more, pedestrian deaths as a portion of the total number of traffic deaths has also risen, from 11 percent back in 2006 to 15 percent in 2015. Based on this preliminary data, it’s believed about 6,000 pedestrians died nationally last year. Four states – Florida, California, Texas and New York – accounted for 42 percent of those.

Now let’s talk specifically about state-level data.

In Florida in the first six months of 2016, there were 301 reported pedestrian accident deaths. That’s compared to 277 during the same time frame – January through June – of 2015, an 8.7 percent increase. It wasn’t the largest spike, but it was higher than the national average increase of 7 percent.

In terms of sheer numbers, Florida ranked No. 3, with California and Texas both counting more fatalities. However, consider that both of these states have population numbers that far exceed our own, which means the rate of pedestrian fatalities is much higher here than the other two states. New York ranked 4th.

The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles released a report late last year detailing traffic accident deaths from 2015 as compared to 2014. With regard to pedestrian accidents specifically, state officials reported there were:

• 9,085 reported pedestrian accidents in 2015 – a 2.79 percent increase from a year earlier.
• 632 pedestrian accident deaths in 2015, an increase of 4.3 percent from the year before.
• 7,870 pedestrian accident injuries in 2015, a 1.72 percent increase from 2014.

Some of the strategies outlined by the GHSA to reduce pedestrian accident fatalities and injuries include:

• Separating pedestrians from motor vehicles by creating refuge islands, building more sidewalks and overpasses, provide ample crossing time at traffic signals;
• Making pedestrians more visible to drivers by improving street lighting and designing high-visibility crosswalks;
• Engineering and enforcing measures to lower speeds by creating “road diets,” roundabouts, traffic-calming devices (i.e., speed bumps and curb extensions) and automated enforcement in addition to traditional enforcement;
• Increasing public awareness through various public information campaigns.

If you have been injured or hurt in a Fort Lauderdale pedestrian accident, you may have a number of legal avenues from which to pursue compensation.

Call Fort Lauderdale Injury Attorney Richard Ansara at (954) 761-4011. Serving Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.

Additional Resources:

Pedestrian Traffic Fatalities by State, March 2017, GHSA

More Blog Entries:

FHP Launches Program to Help Solve Hit-and-Run Crash Cases, April 3, 2017, Pedestrian Accident Lawyer Blog

Unfortunately, it seems more and more accidents are involving pedestrians with strollers. Although there are no available statistics on the issue, the anecdotal evidence is mounting.

Take for example the most recent case in Florida, which occurred in Fort Lauderdale. According to the Sun-Sentinel, a mother and 18-month-old baby girl were rushed to a nearby hospital on a recent night after being struck by a car. The report was that mother and child in stroller were crossing Davie Boulevard in the crosswalk. The vehicle was traveling eastbound.

Officials at this point have not cited anyone or indicated who may be at-fault in the crash, which occurred shortly after 6:30 p.m., but we know the driver stayed at the scene. While interviewed by a local television news crew, driver Carmen Perez was quoted as saying, “In a fraction of seconds, she was under the car.” Perez insisted she was driving slowly, and appeared visibly shaken by the ordeal. The mother and toddler were listed in critical condition at Broward Medical Health Center.

The horrific scene mirrors another that occurred last month in Clearwater. There, according to NBC affiliate News Channel 8, a two-vehicle collision also resulted in a mother and child in a stroller being struck as they traversed the adjacent sidewalk. A witness to that accident told local news reporter that the baby was thrown into some bushes nearby when the vehicle struck the stroller. The baby, she said, was bleeding from the chest and nose and was gasping for air as her mother, who was also injured, cradled her. She was just two-months-old.

Medics were able to stabilize the infant in order to fly her to All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg. Her injuries were serious, but not believed to be life-threatening. Investigators say the crash was caused when a 78-year-old driver of a smart car attempted to turn left and failed to yield to a vehicle in the opposite direction, driven by a 19-year-old. The older driver struck the vehicle of the younger driver, and one of those cars struck the mother and child who were at the corner of the intersection, on the sidewalk. The two drivers were also hospitalized, but their injuries were not as serious.

And back in September, a 16-year-old girl was killed in Port St. John (near Orlando) when she her boyfriend, who was pushing a baby stroller, were struck from behind while walking in the middle of a road by a 42-year-old passenger car driver. According to ClickOrlando.com, The boyfriend and the 19-month-old baby girl suffered serious injuries, but the 16-year-old girl survived. The driver told troopers it was dark and she never saw or expected the three in the roadway.

Our Fort Lauderdale car accident attorneys understand the varying circumstances of these cases will impact the type and amount of compensation these victims can receive. It’s imperative those injured contact a law firm with proven success to ensure no option is left off the table.

Call Fort Lauderdale Injury Attorney Richard Ansara at (954) 761-4011. Serving Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.

Additional Resources:

Woman, toddler crossing Fort Lauderdale street struck by SUV, officials say, Dec. 14, 2015, By Linda Trischitta, Sun Sentinel

More Blog Entries:

Porsche Points Finger at Paul Walker for Crash That Killed Him, Dec. 13, 2015, Fort Lauderdale Injury Lawyer Blog